


The one where Emma is Afraid of Thunderstorms and Killian Teaches her to Enjoy Them

by hannahhoppers



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Ficlet, secret fear, thunderstorm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-02
Updated: 2016-09-02
Packaged: 2018-08-12 13:35:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7936648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hannahhoppers/pseuds/hannahhoppers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on the prompt, "Tell me a secret."</p>
            </blockquote>





	The one where Emma is Afraid of Thunderstorms and Killian Teaches her to Enjoy Them

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for being off the radar for so long, everyone! I've had this nearly complete in my drafts folder for about a month now, but homework and swim practice kinda got in the way of finishing it. I hope my publishing two fics tonight will help to make up for it. :) <3
> 
> I don't own the show or the characters, so I'm playing with them. Adam and Eddy have such nice toys. Unbeta'd. Kudos and comments if you enjoy!

“Tell me a secret,” he murmured as she awoke, fingers dancing lightly across her arm while the sunrise poured in through the big window behind their headboard. 

 

“Huh?” she mumbled groggily, a hand raising to wipe the sleep from her eyes.

 

“How eloquent, love.” She giggled. “Tell me a secret. Anything that you haven’t told somebody before.”

 

“Hmm…” she hummed, snuggling up against him, head tucked into the crevice between his head and shoulder, her nose brushing against his neck. “I have a secret fear of thunderstorms.”

 

“Is that so?” he asked against her hair, punctuating the sentence with a kiss to the crown of her head.

 

“It started when I was little, I guess. I don’t know about the enchanted forest, but just about every little kid in this realm is terrified of thunderstorms. And I didn’t really have parents to tell me it’s just a storm, you know? It just… stuck with me.”

 

“Well, Swan,” he said, dropping a kiss to her temple. “I can’t say I share your fear, but I’ll keep that in mind next time dark clouds roll in.” She smiled against his neck, kissing him once before huddling against him. A happy sigh escaped her lips. 

 

Storybrooke was not an easy place to live, with her phobia. Curses rolling over town twice a year, with thick clouds and roaring thunder, did nothing to assuage her fear. Every now and again, she’d wake up dripping with cold sweat, shaking from a nightmare about the mermaid storm that had nearly drowned them all, when they were heading to Neverland. (Of all the things that had happened in the last seven years to have nightmares about). 

 

He laced his fingers with hers. 

 

“We need to get up, Swan.”

 

“Why? I’m happy right where I am.”

 

“As much as I love that you’re happy, because it’s been a long time coming, love, we really do need to get started on the day. There are meals to cook and ships to sail and stories to tell!” His legs swung over the edge of the bed and he tugged at her arm to urge her away from the comfort of their mattress. 

 

“Alright, I’m up, I’m up.” He stood and waited for her while she built up the will to crawl off the bed, their digits still knotted together. “Time is it?”

 

“Erm… judging from the sun, about nine.”

 

“Killian, the alarm clock is right next to you,” she smiled, walking out of their room with him. 

 

“I guess old habits die hard.”

 

“You used to do that a lot? Tell the time from where the sun was?”

 

“Aye.”

 

“I guess you learn new things every day.”

 

☼♛☼

 

He was on his ship when a storm began to blow in, a few weeks after her admission. When the breeze started swirling quickly around him, he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

 

**_Storm Approaching. Thought you'd like to know._ ** _Killian Jones. 2:27 PM._

 

**_Thanks. Where r u?_ ** _Emma Swan. 2:28 PM._

 

**_Docking now. Why do you ask?_ ** _Killian Jones. 2:28 PM._

 

**_Any chance you’d like to come visit me at the station? ;)_ ** _Emma Swan. 2:28 PM._

 

**_Of course. I’ll be there in about 5 minutes._ ** _Killian Jones. 2:29 PM._

 

**_Would you like me to pick up Granny’s?_ ** _Killian Jones. 2:29 PM._

 

**_You are the best. Ily._ ** _Emma Swan. 2:29 PM._

 

**_Ily?_ ** _Killian Jones. 2:29 PM._

 

**_It means I love you._ ** _Emma Swan. 2:29 PM._

 

**_I love you too, Swan._ ** _Killian Jones. 2:30 PM._

 

The sky darkened as he made his way off the boat and towards the center of town. He whistled while he walked, an old sea song he and Liam had sung during long days during their indentureship. As soon as he walked through the doors of the diner, Granny turned and went into the kitchen, emerging a few minutes later with a brown paper bag for him and his fiancée. His walk to the station was brisk- water droplets were starting to pepper from the sky. He spotted Emma through the glass doors of her office as the first flash of lightning illuminated the sky. She startled, looking to her window with a deer-in-the-headlights expression. He knocked on the door.

 

“I come bearing grilled cheese,” he smiled, lifting the bag. 

 

“My hero.” She stood and met him with a kiss, taking their lunch from his hands and setting it atop her desk by the ancient monitor. The thunder accompanying the flash sounded and she jumped. He chuckled lightly, reaching out to embrace her, and she groaned and pressed her face to his chest. “I’m ridiculous.” 

 

“No, no. Not ridiculous, love. Quirky.” The comment earned him a smile. He pulled away from the hug and went to close the blinds. “There. No more lightning.”

 

“I knew I liked you. Just couldn’t place my finger on why ’til now.” Thunder boomed again. 

 

“What do you say we have a picnic out in the main office?” She nodded and they wrapped their arms around each other, the paper sack dangling from her free hand. Together, they sat on the floor and stretched out their legs. He was leaning against the desk opposite her father’s and she was sitting against him, relaxing into his chest and the warmth she found there. The two chit-chatted a bit while they ate- about the book he had picked up from the library last week, and about Henry’s grades, and whatever else caught their fancy. 

 

When the heavy stomping of thunder sounded above and around them, she snuggled into his chest a little bit more. David found them like that, coming in to grab his spare walkie. 

 

“Looks like the storm’s going to go on for a while yet. You guys might want to head home before the roads get too slick.”

 

“Thanks, Dad.” The prince turned and exited the building, leaving the two to their half-abandoned picnic. 

 

“Shall we head out, then?” he asked her, the low timbre of his voice rumbling against her back. 

 

“Sure. Let’s clean this up, first.”

 

They tossed their wrappers in the garbage can beside them and she went into her office looking for her keys. 

 

“What are you doing, Swan?”

 

“Looking for my keys.”

 

“I have a better idea,” he said, extending an arm to her from the corner just outside her glass-enclosed workstation. She emerged slowly, letting him drape it around her shoulders while picking up a black, wooden-handled umbrella from the stand beside them. 

 

“Wh- what are you doing?”

 

“We are going to walk home.”

 

“In the middle of the storm? What if we get struck by lightning?”

 

“I promise you that we won’t get struck by lightning.”

 

“You’re insane.” She rolled her eyes.

 

“Be that as it may,” he grinned, coaxing a smile from her, “I think… this is what you need to conquer your fear of thunderstorms once and for all. Do you trust me?”

 

“Of course I trust you.” 

 

“Alright. Let’s go, then.” He leaned against the metal edge of the glass door, nudging it open with his back. She walked out through it and he followed. The umbrella opened loudly as they began to brave the elements. Her arms were wound tight around his bend elbow, and she shivered despite the thick carmine-colored leather wrapped about her frame. 

 

He told her a story as they traipsed, the goofy tale lowering her inhibitions. By the time they were halfway to their house she was already standing relaxedly with her head thrown back in mirth. While constructing the scene of a battle in her mind, he splashed into an especially large puddle. 

 

She shrieked a little bit, jumping up and back from the chilly spray. A grin cracked across her face as she promised,

 

“Oh, this is war, pirate.” With a flick of her wrist and a little hop, the puddle splashed up around him, the droplets leaping at least ten times higher than when he had jumped into it. He opened his eyes and smiled at her, dropping the umbrella. His arms wrapped around her waist in an instant and he lifted her into the air and twirled her in a circle. A joyful laugh rang out clearly over the tip-tip-tip sound of the rain hitting the sidewalk. When he set her down, he kissed her deeply before scooping up the umbrella once more. 

 

“Bloody hell, we’re completely soaked.”

 

“All the more reason to change into sweats once we get home.”

 

“I like the way you think, love.”


End file.
